Which is Singapore’s oldest building?

With the 104-year-old Parochial House of St Joseph’s Church in the news recently for being gazetted for conservation, it raises the question: Which is Singapore’s oldest building that is still standing?

I believe that this has not been settled definitively — a gap in our heritage knowledge that deserves to be plugged.

The Old Parliament House, widely regarded to be the oldest existing government or colonial building here, is known to have been built in 1827 for Scottish merchant John Argyle Maxwell as his private residence.

Before he could move in, it was taken over by the colonial government. This seems to be the leading candidate for Singapore’s oldest constructed building. What are the other candidates?

The Sri Mariamman Temple in Chinatown is sometimes referred to as having been built in 1827, but the original wood and attap structure is no longer in existence. The oldest parts of the existing brick structure date back to 1843.

Similarly, Singapore’s first mosque is believed to be Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka, established in 1820 at Keng Cheow Street, just a year after Stamford Raffles arrived on the island.

The original timber structure was torn down and replaced by a brick mosque in 1855, however, and therefore no longer qualifies for consideration.

Likewise, one of Singapore’s most important mosques, Masjid Sultan in Kampong Glam, had its original building, which was constructed in 1826, rebuilt in 1928.

Would the National Heritage Board care to weigh in on this question of national import?